First "real" grow...DoinIt2Gether and doin it right (hopefully)

DoinIt2Gether said:

I am just wondering about how long it takes to flower. I realize every strain is different, and it depends on the conditions and the grower, I just want a general idea...Maybe 8 weeks is a good average? I'm just lookin for a ballpark figure...

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there's a lot of confusion around this, mostly because of different definitions of when flowering starts. if you count from the start of 12/12, then 8 weeks is faster than average. if you count flowering from the start of budding then 8 weeks is probably close to average.

desertrat said:

there's a lot of confusion around this, mostly because of different definitions of when flowering starts. if you count from the start of 12/12, then 8 weeks is faster than average. if you count flowering from the start of budding then 8 weeks is probably close to average.

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Thanks. I think I would want to start at 12/12, so probably closer to 12 then, huh?

yeah lots of people say flowering doesn't start until you see pistils even if it took 2 weeks to show sex under 12/12
guess it makes sense that when it shows sex it starts budding so thats your flowering time..its like the 2 weeks it was already under 12/12 dont count for anything!

always seems to fall between 10 and 11 weeks after the start of 12/12 for me.

Thanks 4 givin me some answers instead of just sayin "well, it depends" u guys rock!

Hey, nice grow so far. I think you could do better with a few more lights.(just an opinion) A good place to find a fixture to hold a lot of lights is home depot or lowes. They sell light fixtures(vanity) that are 3,or4,or5,or6,or8 sockets long. I bought the 8 socket one for 30 bucks.( you may need to buy an extension cord, and attach the wires comming out of the fixture to the plug so you can plug it in a wall). then you can buy some y-splitters and double up the lights if you wish.

1. its safe, to put "16"(23-26watt bulbs) in the 8 socket fixture. Amps are the biggest problem about fire hazards, to many amps can cause the wire to heat up and even melt. but with 26wattsX16 = 416
amps=watts/volts , so amps =416/120(U.S average wall output) = 3.44 amps, respectively my belt-sander uses 5.3 amps thats just to give u an idea.

2. More depth on how to wire the fixture to an extension cord plug. its very simple and you dont need to be an electrician to wire.
tools need : light fixture, screwdriver,electrical tape,extension cord, scissors.


I. The most important step, take apart the light fixture and remove any spare parts the manufacture may have thrown in. There should only be 3 wires left a white,black,and green wire(those are the main colors used)

II. after inspecting the fixture, close it up and grab your extension cord. use the scissors to cut the female plug off the cord. there should be 3 wires bundled together in the extension cord a white,black,and green wire.
Some extension cords my wrap the bundled wires in insulation, simply cut down the insulation length wise while not cutting any of the wires. continue cutting until the 3 individual wires are free to move as they please.(12"-8")

III. simply attach the wires to their corresponding colors. you may use the electrical tap here or some fixtures may come with orange wire nuts. to use the orange nuts take the 2 wires you want to connect and twist them together, then take the nut and screw it on like a soda cap till you cant twist it any further.

IV. I suggest wrapping the bottoms of the orange nuts with electrical tape( it insulates, and holds the wires stronger ). After the wires are connected use the electrical tape to wrap the 3 wires together like the insulation did before you cut it( make sure no metal of any wire is showing first) if any metal is showing cover with electrical tape.

V. plug it into a wall and you have a nice cfl light fixture

Thanks for stoppin in Ryan, I hope u keep comin back to visit. The fixtures I have will hold up to eight bulbs each. They are the ones from See More Buds' Book, and we did the wiring on those. I'll be putting more bulbs in in the next week or so...stay tuned!

Is it normal for my 11 day old autos to be less than an inch tall? I have heard that at this stage they are focused on root growth, but I've never grown autos before and so I'm kind of anxious.
Also, 2 more of my autos have sprouted, doubling my chances of getting a female. Does anyone know what the female/male ratio with autos?

When does your count start? The day you planted or the day they popped above the soil?

Because my auto ak-47's are 10 days from the day I planted the seeds, and 7 days from the day they first appeared above the surface. Mine are about 1.5 inches high. The biggest is 4.5 inches across the widest leaf span, with the others slightly less than this. I now have the first two sets of real leaves established, with four new smaller leaves coming through from the centre. These news leaves seem to me to be the start of the veg stage, as its multiple leaves at a time, and im assuming that the plant gains it height from here, with these new bunches heading upwards to have the room they need to grow. Im wording this in layman's terms as im new to growing to, and im just using the terms I understand.

So in answer to your question id say you're alright. As long as the growth you have has been continuous, even if only slow and steady, then id say that you've had plenty of root growth. Now they are established things should kick off soon. What lights do you have them under? Mine have been under a 400w dual spectrum since day 2.

Hope that's helpful. From what you've posted you seem like you've studied things in depth and know what you're doing. Try and relax with and im sure everything will be fine.

Cheers, B.

Height isnt an issue, how many nodes has she put off is the question. If she is staying short but still putting off nodes one after the other, just super close together then you should be fine, My flower power stayed somewhat short, though not that short, but it had a bunch of nodes, super close together, that is until I put it outside and it went apeshit on me. Kind a stretched, but the plant is huge for a little less than a month old.

They still aren't growing in height, but the biggest is a little over an inch across and is sprouting its third set of nodes (just barely). I'll just keep an eye on them...Has anyone heard of using sugar, yeast and water in a 2L bottle for Co2?

The little autos are starting to grow....not much, but a little. They are all in pots of FF happy frog soil and I watered them today. My super skunks are looking kind of spindly, and the bottom fan leaves on the one are starting to turn yellow. The fan leaves on the other one are growing in a circular direction. Anyone ever heard of that? Also, any opinions on the Co2 idea?

lots of d-i-y co2 options, sugar and yeast being a popular one. my personal opinion is that for most people and for most methods enhancing co2 has little impact on your grow. first, in most non-commercial indoor grows the plants are getting just as much co2 as outdoor plants. so the only reason to add co2 is to try enhanced co2 as a growth stimulant, which works only if you have all other growing requirements ( ie temps, water, nutes) optimized. it also only works up to about 1,200 ppm. to effectively use co2 you need a monitor/controller and some way of producing co2 that can be controlled. practically speaking, that means a co2 bottle or a gas generator.

DoinIt2Gether said:

.Maybe 8 weeks is a good average? I'm just lookin for a ballpark figure...

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Maybe a few weeks longer for CFLs or are you planning to flower under an HPS? I dont really want to get into the whole CFL war on here so im not rattling anyones cage, but IME they are not great for floweing. If you have the money just invest in a nice 400w HPS with cool tube and let it veg for longer before switching to 12/12. If not you are looking at disapointing yields with only a few cfls. Check out the range of HPS. They really are not expensive and you really get much more bang for your buck.

desertrat said:

lots of d-i-y co2 options, sugar and yeast being a popular one. my personal opinion is that for most people and for most methods enhancing co2 has little impact on your grow. first, in most non-commercial indoor grows the plants are getting just as much co2 as outdoor plants. so the only reason to add co2 is to try enhanced co2 as a growth stimulant, which works only if you have all other growing requirements ( ie temps, water, nutes) optimized. it also only works up to about 1,200 ppm. to effectively use co2 you need a monitor/controller and some way of producing co2 that can be controlled. practically speaking, that means a co2 bottle or a gas generator.

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I was just looking to use some Co2 is because my temps are running a little too high and I heard that temps can run a little higher if I have good Co2 levels.

JRTokin said:

Maybe a few weeks longer for CFLs or are you planning to flower under an HPS? I dont really want to get into the whole CFL war on here so im not rattling anyones cage, but IME they are not great for floweing. If you have the money just invest in a nice 400w HPS with cool tube and let it veg for longer before switching to 12/12. If not you are looking at disapointing yields with only a few cfls. Check out the range of HPS. They really are not expensive and you really get much more bang for your buck.

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I know my 1000 watt raised my electric bill astronomically...Do u know what the hps would do to it? Any idea what it averages out to per month or per year?

unless you have more then 2,500 lumens or so per sq ft I dont think C02 does anything. First you have to give the plant the best environment possible. Then if you want to give it an environment better then it could have outside in nature, and grow it like its in some other super plant growing world, you can give extra co2 and light.

businessmen said:

unless you have more then 2,500 lumens or so per sq ft I dont think C02 does anything. First you have to give the plant the best environment possible. Then if you want to give it an environment better then it could have outside in nature, and grow it like its in some other super plant growing world, you can give extra co2 and light.

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hey man, thanks for the tip. Does anyone here know anything about re-vegging plants?

DoinIt2Gether said:

I was just looking to use some Co2 is because my temps are running a little too high and I heard that temps can run a little higher if I have good Co2 levels.

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misinterpretation of co2 guidelines. if you are running a completely optimized system then the plant can use extra co2 and higher temp to get superior growth. uncontrolled additional co2 in non-optimized conditions plus higher temps will stunt the growth of your plants.

DoinIt2Gether said:

I know my 1000 watt raised my electric bill astronomically...Do u know what the hps would do to it? Any idea what it averages out to per month or per year?

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watts divided by 1000 times hours turned on per day times price (in cents per kilowatt hour, find on your bill or website or use 10 cents per kwh as estimate) = daily cost of electricity.

DoinIt2Gether said:

Does anyone here know anything about re-vegging plants?

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lots of examples on site. simple to do - simply put back on greater duration of light, the plant will eventually stop flowering and revert to veg - but it can take weeks.

desertrat said:

misinterpretation of co2 guidelines. if you are running a completely optimized system then the plant can use extra co2 and higher temp to get superior growth. uncontrolled additional co2 in non-optimized conditions plus higher temps will stunt the growth of your plants.
Thanks alot, u saved me from a serious screw up, props 2 u man!
watts divided by 1000 times hours turned on per day times price (in cents per kilowatt hour, find on your bill or website or use 10 cents per kwh as estimate) = daily cost of electricity.
Cool beans, I'm gonna copy and paste this formula!
lots of examples on site. simple to do - simply put back on greater duration of light, the plant will eventually stop flowering and revert to veg - but it can take weeks.

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Thats what I thought, but I really want to re veg enough to pull some clones. I just harvested these ladies and the smoke was pretty darn good. I have the extra space for them, so I thought y not? I have 2 WW and 2 BBxPH hybrids (called blue haze I think...) That way I have some guarenteed females to work with in case my autos and skunks end up having a high male ratio.